The most popular movies among NYTimes.com readers.

Review Summary

A man finds he's still a stranger in a nation where he's lived for half a decade in this tense drama. Mario (Ernesto Alterio), born and raised in Spain, has spent five years living in Morocco overseeing a business for his father Victor (Adolfo Fernandez), with whom he has a contentious relationship. Shorty before he is scheduled to come home, Mario is asked by Victor to look in on his half-sister Laura (Elena Ballesteros), who is traveling through Morocco. Having had little contact with Laura, Mario is surprised when she turns out to be a lovely young woman with a provocative manner. After spending an evening with her, Mario accidentally kills a sheep while driving back to his flat, which raises the ire of the locals, and the next day Laura disappears while shopping at the kasbah. Mario thinks the sheep's owner may be responsible, but when he approaches the man about Laura's whereabouts, a fight breaks out, and Mario is arrested. The police accuse Mario of murdering Laura, and Victor retains the services of a hired gun, Rodrigo (Jose Sancho. Mario needs to find Laura quickly, and Brahim (Mehdi Ouazzani), who lives in town, offers to track her down on the condition that Mario then escort him to his family in the southern part of the country. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi